We got our Miele steam oven two months ago and we love it. It takes a few minutes to begin steaming but the result is far superior for reheating than the MW. And for veggies, it's really nice to not have pots on the stove. Go for it! And if you're looking for a great Speed Oven, the Miele is it. I was worried that it wouldn't broil, but that's all we use it for and we've only used it twice as a MW. It's the best broiler we've had. What a relief! We have both Miele's under the counter side-by-side. They look nice, but it would have been nicer if Miele had coordinated the clock panels so they matched. The steam oven has a backlight I can't get rid of but the Speed Oven doesn't. Other than that, we're thrilled with the Miele's and I did a LOT of research!

Did all my shopping in one big swoop yesterday....said that if i forgot something, to bad, no one will starve for weeks here...i've been up for hours and having a nice calm prep, mostly chopping, dicing, bowls and bags of this-n-that, nice neat list. (celery gets three different sizes for four different things). Hate to later come back and chop celery...if i have extra, even better as it will go into soup or something friday. So today prepping; stuffing, potatoes, pie, cranberry sauce, roasted roots just cut and oil rubbed w/rosemary, not baked till tomorrow. New this year...i like to make something new for apps....edamame/baby pea humus for snacking, (made crackers last night) Fresh baby artichokes w/ crispy parm/panko crust in a leek cream. Now looking for the video how to peel these things easily....saw a good one a few months ago... Mr Sleeve was up early and made sure the kitchen was spotless, dishes put away, a quick mop of the floor, laundry in dryer... He likes to do all the chopping prep but weather here is awful and traffic might be also...i'm off work this week... Forgot dish washer soap, grr. I almost always have a back-up.

HEATH AND MACADAMIA BLONDIES (Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma) 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs 1 cup flour 3/4 cup macadamia nuts, toasted and roughly chopped 1 cup chopped Heath bars, plus more for topping (optional) 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350. Butter 8-inch square pan. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar and mix until well blended and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until incorporated. Add flour and mix until combined. Add macadamia nuts and Heath bars and mix just to incorporate. Spread into prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool bars completely and then cut. Heat chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl in 1 minute intervals stirring in between until melted. Top each bar with teaspoon of melted milk chocolate and piece of Heath bar. Enjoy the crunch!

I feel guilty that I"ve actually been having a mostly relaxing day while dh is slaving in the kitchen ALL day. He went to the grocery store early and while he was gone, I made marinara sauce for the ravioli mentioned above. I failed to mention that *his* tradition every year is to make chocolate chip pumpkin bread (old Ghirardelli recipe) for all our friends/neighbors/coworkers. He sometimes makes 40 loaves. Well, I thought he was done but nope, got home from the store and made two more batches. Then he started in on the filling for the ravioli. He made the meat ravioli first, finally took a break for dinner, and is now working on the cheese ravioli. Our 13 y/o has been a great helper. The other day, he decided that he wanted to bring pumpkin cheesecake to my parents' house for Christmas. My mom is already making dessert but he decided he wanted this as well so she didn't have to make an additional dessert. I warned him the cheesecake needs to be made ahead. He said he was going to make it tonight. Well, he's already said he will do it tomorrow. Yet I just realized now, at 9:30pm, that he still hasn't made the tiramisu for Christmas Eve dessert. His response - "I got it, I didn't forget. I'm making both tomorrow." Every year he does this. He takes on too much and then complains after the fact about how exhausted he is. I happily would have bought the tiramisu in Little Italy where it is fabulous. Nope, he needs to make it from scratch. I wouldn't care but he makes a disaster out of the kitchen for days on end b/c he doesn't clean up until the very end. I cannot STAND clutter so it makes me nuts that my kitchen is a mess with no end in sight. I couldn't even make dinner tonight b/c there was no room! We had to get take out. I suppose I shouldn't complain - it is nice that he loves to cook. I do as well, but I am much better at planning and timing (and cleaning up and starting fresh each day). I mentioned next year doing a sort of buffet spread of heavy appetizers instead of Christmas dinner (someone else here mentioned doing that this year, and since my mom has decided this is her last year of hosting, I thought that idea sounded good for next year). Of course, he made a face. But we host a sit-down dinner on Christmas Eve! And seriously, I'd like to actually enjoy Christmas not spend two days in a row feeding a formal sit down dinner to my family when HE is the only one who cares. My kids would happily graze all day.